Hey, love the open thread Idea!

Thanks. I'm trying to improve 3QC, and I figured the once-or-twice-weekly open thread would keep things moving.

That being said, I think the guy is a legit talent in this league. Just looking at players like Gibson, Korver, Kapono, and yes, even Gordon give me an inkling of how good Redick can be.

Pretty solid comparisons. I think of the guys you mentioned, Korver is the most similar to Redick. And Redick is further along than Korver was at age 23, when he averaged 12.7 points per 36 minutes on 42% shooting; Redick is averaging 16.5 points per 36 minutes on 44% shooting. So it's entirely possible that he could develop into a solid contributor along those lines. Then again, he could also be the next Brooks Thompson. We won't know until he cracks the rotation.

As for being in the rotation; not this year. The Bogans/Evans combo is playing too good to break up at this point. I really do hope that he gets his chance next year though.

Agreed.

And finally, great pick by Otis. I like the direction he took this team after hiring SVG and don't blame him too much for JJ not fitting in up to this point. That has worked out to the Magic's fortune.

I think Ronnie Brewer would have been a better pick because he can drive to the basket a bit better. It's hard to call the pick good or bad either way because J.J. hasn't really gotten a chance. But as it stands, the past several drafts have been wasted.

Redick belongs on a team where they need shooting.  SVG seems to feel that Rashard and Hedo are enough, as long as the "mogans" combo shoots ok, and plays better defense than Redick.  The thing is, we haven't really had good defensive play from any position but maybe center all season.  You would think that Redick can't really do any worse for our defense

I disagree. Bogans and Evans do an admirable job of keeping their men away from the basket. Kobe Bryant may have scored 8 points in the 4th quarter of that one win over us last month, but Bogans was up in his face the whole time and forced him to shoot just 2-of-6 from the field. Redick is a huge step down defensively.

A legit rebounding power forward would let Dwight be more of a shot blocking presence, which would improve perimeter defense through synergy.  Most good defensive teams have this as a cornerstone.

Yup.

However, since SVG doesn't seem to agree with most similar assessments of Redick, it doesn't make sense to keep him on the end of the bench when he can be an asset for us in trade.

If the right offer comes along, Otis will pull the trigger. Otis may be committed to J.J., but it doesn't appear as though Stan is, and Stan's the boss. And it makes complete sense to trade J.J. Why keep a guy who doesn't play because when you can exchange him for one who will?

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but okay. J.J. may get to 15-point, 3-assist territory, but he's never going to average more than a board or two per game. That's the weakest part of his game. Well, that and defense.

Writing that last sentence made it abundantly clear to my why J.J. isn't playing.

I agree 100%.

Was that last paragraph a veiled threat to JJ?

Does JJ deserve a spot in the rotation??

I say no, not as this team is constructed.  JJ is a one-dimensional player, a shooter on a team full of shooters.  Evans and Bogans both bring more to the table defensively, Evans has a real knack for getting to the basket, both are serviceable shooterers, are far more physical than JJ (who is the poster boy for finesse).  Can someone tell me what JJ brings to the table that improves this team, or an intangible that the other SG’s lack (don’t tell me about shooting....I repeat...JJ is a one dimensional shooter on a team full of shooters)?  Rugged defense?  Don’t think so.  Size?  Can he create his own shot?  I cannot find a single reason JJ should be in the rotation ahead of other SG on this team.

I agree that he hasn't earned a spot in the rotation, but I disagree that he's one-dimensional. Lately he's shown an increased willingness to take the ball to the basket, and in the Summer League he even set the table for some of his teammates with his dribble penetration. I wish he's use that skill more in the limited minutes he gets. Too often, he's content to pump-fake from the three-point arc, take two dribbles in, and launch an off-balance shot. If we were more aggressive, he might play more often

JJ was probably overrated coming into the league, was hurt coming into his rookie season, the team was in flux coming off the stellar Johnny Davis year and giving the job to Brian Hill to buy time with the fan base to get support for the arena, develop Dwight Howard and clear cap space.  I can name many players who probably would a better pick but the Magic took their shot with JJ for probably reasonably good reasons at the time.

Interesting. I hadn't thought of the possibility that drafting a popular guy like J.J. was a move designed to distract people from the abysmal Johnny Davis era. That, in combination with the Brian Hill goodwill re-hire, really makes one wonder...

We only need to look the true wasted picks and stupid acquisitions we have had to endure, (Jerald Sasser,  Doug Christy, Johnny Taylor, Brooks Thompson, and so on and so on) to see that Otis has by no measure failed in a scale his predecessors have.

Very true, although the bar certainly isn't up very high...

We are dealing with the here and now, and at this point JJ is not a rotation player.  He needs to shut up, see how the offseason plays out, do his job, stay outta the way, quit annoying me, be a team player (did I mention shut up?).  I am sure JJ will get a shot somewhere else if it does not pan out here (like say,,,the Clippers, or the Grizz) where he put up big numbers on a very bad team if the situation here is not to his liking.

My friend Matt (from Hardwood Paroxysm) thinks trading J.J. to the Grizzlies for Hakim Warrick makes sense for both teams, as well as J.J., and I'm inclined to agree with him.

Bogans probably won't opt-out -- there's no way he's going to get more money elsewhere -- and Keyon will probably stick around. Arroyo's as good as gone, and Evans will probably want more money than we can offer him after re-signing Dooling. That'd leave Keyon as the backup point guard, Bogans as the starting two... and J.J. as the backup. But if Otis makes a trade (Redick for Warrick, for instance) we could shift Turk to the two, Rashard to the three, and have Warrick at the four. Bogans would be our sixth man.

On second thought, maybe we should keep J.J. "Keith Bogans, Sixth Man" doesn't sound too great.